Torpedo steering unit.



H. W. SHONNARD.

TORPEDO STEERING UNIT.

APPLICATION men APR-30,19?-

Patented Mar. 4,1919

2 SHEETS-SHEET! WITNESSES H. W. SHONNARD.

TDRPEDO STEERING UNIT.

APPLICATRON FILED APR. 30. 191i.

IIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR UNITED s're'rns APATNT oFrroE.

HAROLD W. SHONNARD, OF UPPER MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO CRUGIBLE STEEL COMPANY OF AMERICA, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

TORPEDO STEERING UNIT.

Patented Mar. 4:, 1919.

Application filed April 30, 1917. Serial No. 165,430.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD V. SHONNARD, residing at Upper Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, a citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Torpedo Steering Units, of which improvements the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction and operation of steering units for marine automobile torpedoes.

Such torpedoes, as they are now construct ed, include two steering units, a gyroscopic apparatus for controlling the vertical rudders, and a. driving gear for controlling the horizontal rudders. While, in the broader aspect of my invention, some of the features are applicable alike to both such steering -my inventionithe bottom of the hull 1 of the'torpedo is provided with a suitable opening to receive the steering unit, and, ad-

units, in its more specific aspects it is lim ited to gyroscopic apparatus, and is soillustrated in the accompanying sheets of'drawings.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a torpedo and a gyroscopic steering unit contained therein; Fig. 2 a combined horizontal section and plan view of the steering unit, the plane of view being indicated by the broken line IIII, Fig. 1; and Figs. 3 and 4 views similar to detached portions of Fig. 1, but showing modifications of construction.

In the operation of torpedoes, such as con templated herein, highly heated motive flu id is used to drive the turbine or other propelling engine, and the exhaust gases from such engine usually pass into the torpedo afterbody, and from thence they escape through a suitable outlet at the tail of the torpedo. These exhaust gases in the afterbody necessarily heat to a considerable extent the apparatus contained therein, including the two aforementioned steering units. Ithas been found that a requisite to uniformity of operation of these units is that they be maintained at a substantially constant tempera ture throughout the run of a torpedo. If a gyroscope, balanced'and otherwise ad usted at a given temperature, becomes unduly heated or cooled, it will, when spun, usually gyroscopes, excessive heating is liable to char or otherwise injure the insulation of the windings. With respect to the other steering units, namely, the driving gear, it has been found that the heating of the air in the spring compartment increases the pressure upon the diaphragm and hence causes the torpedo to'travel' at: a gradually increasing depth rather than at approximately the predetermined desired depth.

In view of the foregoing considerations, one of the specific objects of my invention is to provide, for such steering units, a waterjacketed housing which may be readily mounted within or removed from a torpedo,

and whereby no special connections need be jacent to such opening, there is a suitable support 2 to which the unit may be attached. As already stated, the steering unit shown herein is a gyroscope, and it will presently appear more fully that it is of the type that may be spun electrically. The unit is mounted within a protecting housing 3 which is provided with a water-jacket 4. To the end that there may be a ready circulation, through such jacket, of water of submersion, and, furthermore, that no special connections need be provided for this purpose, the lower'end of the housing is provided with inlet and outlet ports 5 and 6, respectively. As shown in Figs. 1 and2, the inlet ports 5 communicate at their upper ends with the fore portion of water-jacket chamber of the housing, and at their lower end with a recess or passageways 7 formed in the support 2. In a similar manner the outlet ports 6 communicate attheir upper ends with the aft portion of the water chamber and at their lower ends with passageways 8.

By such construction and arrangement, the

speed of the torpedo will have the effect of simultaneously impelling 0r forcing. water through the passageways 7 and ports 5 into the fore portion of the water; jacket and of withdrawing, by a suction action, the water from the aft portion of the jacket. Thus there is provided an adequate means for causing a continuous flow of water through the jacket.

' ways. The support 2 is provided with sub'-, v stantially U-shaped passageways 7 which In Fig. 4 there is shown a modification in the construction of ports and passageregister with similarly shaped ports 5 formed in the housing 3*. In both forms,

however, it will be observed that, by locating the ports at the lower end of the waterjacketed housing, the wateracket chamber .is placed in communication with the water of submersionimmediately upon attaching of the housing: 3 or 3% to the support 2 or 2*,

- as by means of bolts 9 or9 and without making further connections for the purpose.

While not shown herein, it will be readily understood that i the construction just explainedis applicable to housings for driving gears. Its applicability to such use is shown in my application Serial No.'1' ?6,0 94l.

Another feature of my lnventlon has to do with the construction of gyroscoplc steering -unit's. In view of the increased range requ'irements for torpedoes, it has been found necessary to make provisions for a longer efiective spinn ng of the gyroscope. Thls has been accomplished, first, by mproving the, general construction of the gyroscope 'andits spinning mechanism, and secondly,

by constructing the gyroscope as an electric motor and providing means for. con v tinuously supplying current to it after the initial splnningimpulse, which spinning impulse has usually been effected either by an electric current or by mechanism coerjdinated with "the torpedo-propelling mechanism';- V

The specific object of this further feature ofmy invention is to provide a gyroscopic steering unit whichwil'l be simple and ineX pensive in construction, compact inform,

=-andfwhi ch may, as a, whole, be readily mounted within and beremoved" from a torpedo; I .7

In the practice of my invention, I provide fan electric motor gyroscope with spring actuated mechanism for effecting its prelim- .inary spinning, and-also-provide a sourceof 7 electrical energy for supplying current for the; continuous spinning of the gyroscope. Preferably, these three essential elements are secured to a. common frame which is removably attachedv to the hull of the toripedo,so that the gyroscope ste'eri ng mecha nism may be removed as a unitwhen necessary to make adjustments,itests orrep'airs, 7 While the electric motor gyroscope may "be of any desired form or construction, it is preferably an induction motor similar'to that shownand described in my U. S. Patent No.- 1,l63',606,;thehousing 10' of the gyroscope shownherein corresponding with the l housing 3i'of 'that of said patent and form- "ing' theiinnengimb al of the. gyroscope. The

outer 'gimbal 11- is. pivotal'ly mounted in;

# 65 suitable supports 12 and 13 attached. to the housing or main supporting frame 3, and is provided with a member 14., adapted to op-v erate a valve 15 for" controlling a' steering engine 16 of the usual, or any desired, type mounted upon the housing '17. The valve "15 is suitably secured to an angle fire indexing mechanism including a segmental worm gear 18, adapted to be turned to any desired position by means of a worm shaft 19, rotatably mounted in thehousing 3 and pro vided with a wrenclrengaging head 20. The valve 15 and indexing mechanism shown herein are the same asthe corresponding elements shown and described 111- my U. S.

Patent No, 1,030,13 l, and. hence need no furso ther explanation herein.

- For the preliminary spinning of the gyroscope I preferably provide aspring 1mpelled mechanism or motor, which, in all essential respects," may be the same-as the Obry gyroscope fully shown and described in U. SZ Patent No. 621,364:. Such mechanismis simple and light in construction and is capable of spinning a. gyroscope to a speed sufiicientto cause'it to properly control a torpedo for a short distance, that'is to say,

for a distance less than the present long range requirements. -By effecting. the preliminary spin of the gyroscope by such spring actuated mechanism, and tl1e"'continued spinning by supplying, in a manner presently to be explained, an electric current through the housing: 10. Surrounding this shaft there 1s a coil spring '25- securedat its upper end to the shaft andat its lower end to a fixed support 26. "At the lower end of the shaft there is attached a toothed disk 27 adapted to be engaged by a spring presse'd latch 28 secured to a rotatable shaft; 29, which shaft in turn is-,'through armBO, rod i3 1, and arm. 32, suitably I attached to the starting ylatch 13-31 "Thegyroscope is suit- 7 ably locked by means of a spring pressed pivoted lever, "having a locking arm 34 and a releasing arm 35, :the shaft -21 being providedwitha cam finger .36, which, upon the rotation of the; shaft, trips the lever-334,35 and holds it in unlocked position. 'To stop,

at the; required position, the rotation of the *gear 22, .a suitable eushion ing cy-linder 37 maybe attached to the housin'g Bi -The construction' of'fjth-i'si stopping mechanism, as 'well as the detail construction Eofi the other parts of the preliminary spinning? mechanism are similar to the corresponding; parts of the apparatus shown in the above mentioned Obry patent, and need not be shown herein.

In the operation of the spring motor preliminary-spinning mechanism, the motor is set by turning the shaft 21 until the parts are in the position indicated in the drawings, the gyroscope being locked by the arm 34. When the starting latch 33 is tripped, the latch 28 releases the disk 27 so that the gear revolves rapidly through a partial revolution and thus spins the gyroscope rotor. At the end of the spin the gyroscope is unlocked by the finger 36 engaging the lever arm 35, and the motor stopped by the cushioning cylinder 37.

In case it is desired to effect the preliminary spinning of the gyroscope prior to the launching of the torpedo for the purpose of practising the method of fire control according to my U. S. Patent No. 1,035,647, the tripping of the latch 33 may be effected by an electro-magnet in the manner shown particularly in Fig. 3 of my U. S. Patent No. 1,163,606, or by an equivalent device.

For supplying the electric motor gyroscope with current to effect a continued spinning thereof, I preferably mount, upon the housing or frame 3, a source of electrical supply in circuit with the gyroscope. While, as shown in Fig. 1, such source is preferably a generator or magneto, it may be a storage battery as shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Fig. 1, the rotor 38 of the generator 39 may be provided with a spur gear 40 adapted to mesh with a pinion 11 keyed to the propelling shaft 412. The parts are so arranged relatively to each other that, when the steering unit is mounted within the torpedo, the gear 40 will mesh with the pinion 11. Thus, the mere operation of placing the unit in the torpedo establishes a driving connection between the torpedopropelling mechanism and the generator, so that, when such propelling mechanism is started, current is generated for, and supplied to, the gyroscope. The generator casing is water jacketed in the manner indicated at 61.

The electric current may be carried from the generator through conductors 43 and 4A to the gyroscope, and the electrical connection through the gimbals to the electric motor may be the same as those shown particularly in Fig. 5 of my U. S. Patent No. 1,192,468 for an electric motor gyroscope.

Fig. 3, as already stated, shows a storage battery 45 mounted on the housing or frame 3. That current may be supplied to the gyroscope only after the spring motor has effected the preliminary spin, the circuit is normally broken, and means are provided to close it at the end of such spin. For this purpose the upper end of the shaft 21 may be provided with a contactor 46 so disposed that, at the end of the operation of the spring motor, it will afford electrical continuity between two terminal contactors 4:7 in the conductor lS. The other conductor 49 leads directly to the gyroscope.

It will be observed of both forms that the gyroscope, the preliminary spinning motor and the source of electrical supply are all mounted on a single frame, thereby affording a gyroscopic steering unit which may be readily mounted within or removed from the torpedo. In mounting the unit in the torpedo it is necessary to make several small connections within the torpedo hull, namely, a pin connection 50 between the arm 30 and the starting latch rod 31, a pin connection 51 between the steering engine piston rod 53 and the rudder rod 54, and a union joint connection 55 between the steering engine 16 and a conduit 56 for supplying compressed air or other motive fluid to such engine. As is usual, the torpedo hull is provided with a hand hole 57 so that access may be had to the interior of the torpedo to make these connections.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle and operation of my invention together with the construction which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that my invention may be practised with other forms of construction than that shown herein.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with an automobile torpedo having its hull provided with an opening to receive a steering unit, of asteering unit support adjacent to such opening and secured to the torpedo hull, and asteering unit secured tosuch support, said unit including a waiter-j acketed housing provided at its lower end and adjacent to said hull opening with ports for admitting water to and discharging it from said jacket, said ports being adapted solely upon the attachment of said unit to said support to place the water-jacket portion of said housing in corlimuni'cation with the exterior of the torpe o.

2. The combination with an automobile torpedo having its hull provided with an opening to receive a steering unit, of a steering unit support adjacent to such opening provided with a passageway open at one end to the exterior of the torpedo hull, and a steering unit secured to such support, said unit including a water-j acketed housing provided at its lower end with a port communicating at one end with the water-jacketed portion of said housing and at its other end registering with said passageway, such communication being effected solely by the attachment of said housing to said support.

3. The combination with an automobile torpedo having its hull provided with an torpedo having its hu-ll provided With an opening to receive a steering unit; of a gyroscoplc steering unlt compr smg an electric motor gyroscope, a. spring motor for effectmg the prellmlnary spinning of sald gyrosc'ope, a source of electrical energy for supp-lying said gyroscope With current for a continued spinning thereof, and a common frame for said gyroscope,spring motor and source of electrical energy; said imit being removable as a Whole through said opening in the hull.

5. The combination with an automobile torpedo having its'hull provided With an opening to receive asteermg unit; of a gyroscope steering unit comprising an electric motor gyroscope, a spring motor for effecting the preliminary spinning of said gyroscope, a genera-tor for supplying said gyroscope With current for a continued spinning 7 thereof, and a common frame for said gyroscope, spring motor and generator; said unit 7 Copies of this patent may'beobtained for footing the preliminary spinning of said gyrosoope, a generator for supplying said gyroscope with current for a continued spinning thereof, the rotor of said generator being provided' vith a pinion meshing with said driving gear, and a common frame for said gyroscope, spring motor and generator; said unit being removable as a Whole through said opening in the hull.

7. In an automobile torpedo, the combination of steering mechanism, an electric motor gyroscope for controlling said mechanism, a spring motor for effecting thepreliminary spinning of the gyroscope, a source of electricalenergy Within the'torpedo for supplying the gyroscope with current for its continued spinning, and a common frame for said gyroscope, spring motor andsource of electrical energy. i

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

HAROLD 'W. SHONN'ARD, Witnesses: Gno. V. JAMES, HERMAN C. ENGELMAN.

five cents each, y E g't e Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. a r n 

